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Psycho Mike
Michael Dwight Catherwood, known by his radio name Psycho Mike, is an American radio personality. He the current co-host of Loveline and is also known for his work at KROQ-FM on Kevin and Bean.http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=1759133&spid=24698 Early life Catherwood was born in March 15, 1979 in Los Angeles to an Irish-American father (Dwight) and Mexican-American mother (Rachel). He has revealed very little about his childhood other than he grew up in the LA area around San Marino. His teenage years were the start of his problems with substance abuse, as he began drinking at an early age. He has mentioned on Loveline that his first sexual experience was when he was only 13 years old, with a unattractive 19 year old woman (whom he calls a "mustachioed succubus"). When he was older, travelled across the US to New Jersey were he attended Rutgers University but was unable to complete his first year due to his problems with substance abuse, including crack cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, meth and alcohol, as well as abuse of anabolic steroids. He initially sought treatment in Minnesota at the Hazelden Foundation, but was unable to complete the program. He later moved back to LA to start a career in music with a heavy metal band, but his drug use continued to be a problem. Eventually he went for treatment at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena where he met with greater success. During this time in his recovery, he started a career in radio and personal training. He has been sober since 2002. Host of Loveline On March 21, 2010, he was permanently hired as the co-host of the national call-in radio show Loveline, with physician host Drew Pinsky. Catherwood frequently draws on his own past experience as a drug addictLoveline, 2010-08-02 to educate and confront callers on the subject of substance abuse.Mike Catherwood to Co-Host Syndicated Radio Show with Dr. Drew Pinsky Comedic Style Impressions He is known for performing many impersonations, some of which have become regular material on the show. Recurring bits include: * Gene Simmons, who is portrayed as extremely well-spoken, but constantly brags about his sexual prowess and expresses a savagely capitalistic outlook about the music industry. He often tells absurd tall tales about his sexual exploits with various music stars from the 70s and 80s (and Thai prostitutes). He also encourages guests of the show to market themselves aggressively, including selling merchandise. * Spencer Pratt, who's approach is signaled by a helicopter sound effect. Spencer is portrayed as a white supremacist with a strange idea of feminine beauty, often expressing that he only likes women with freakish proportions resulting in a BMI of 12 or less, but with artificially augmented breasts. He often asks callers for their weight and height, only to "vomit" if it falls outside his ideal. He is also obsessed with gaudy overpriced product brands such as Affliction, Ed Hardy, and Cristal Champagne, and likes to brag about his clothing and helicopter allegedly being covered with diamonds. Drew dislikes "Spencer" immensely and has asked on several occasions for Rudy to stab him. * Manny Ramirez, who speaks in strange non-sequiturs, often not following along with what Drew asked him about. He likes to say "Hoo-ray" for no reason. * Rudy, a character of Catherwood's own invention, is a 37 year old heavy-accented cholo ex-con from Boyle Heights. *'Sven', another original character. Sven is a shallow, middle-aged German club-goer that doesn’t so much speak as “recite” over heavy techno beats (most often the instrumentals of The Time (Dirty Bit) by the Black-eyed Peas). His “lyrics” are composed of anecdotes about going to discos in Munich, dancing, using ecstasy and taking random women home for sexual encounters. Often these stories go in unexpected directions with strange “warts and all” portrayals of problems associated with this behavior (such as the awkwardness after the drug wears off and he realizes his partners are very unattractive). Though German, his nickname “Sven” comes from his failed recording career in Stockholm. By day he is a dental hygienist. Some less frequent bits include the former Loveline host Adam Carolla, who whines in a nasally voice about random subjects, Lamar Odom, who mumbles unintelligibly, and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino from The Jersey Shore. Personal matters Mike is very candid about his history with drug abuse and his current psychological and interpersonal issues. He has been sober for over 8 years, and as Drew often points out, his history and status in recovery make him invaluable in confronting addict callers about their drug use. It takes an addict to get through to another one, which is part of the basis for 12-step programs. Mike also talks openly about his problems with body image and self-esteem. Despite being a competative body body-builder and fitness enthusiaist for many years, he states he still feels unattractive, to the point that he often has intercouse clothed or wearing a shirt. Before he joined Loveline, Drew once administered the Narcissistic Personality Inventory during the course of his study on celebrity and narcissism. Mike scored a 2, the lowest Drew had ever seen (Drew initially accused him of fudging the test). Such a low score showed that Mike was the opposite of a narcissist, with a disproportionally negative self-image. While often praised for his good looks and physique, he still tends to think of himself poorly. On-air he often cracks jokes or complains about having a small penis, which Drew has often said is just him projecting his self-worth onto his organ rather than a real appraisal, and various hints seem to support this. The one person who claims to have seen it, Andy Dick (who saw it as part of a bit), said that it "looked perfectly normal." In January 2011, he finally admitted it was probably 5-6" (which Drew and a female caller who was a retired prostitute pointed out was well within average). Mike's love life took a sudden turn for the better in July 25, 2011, when model/actress Diora Baird (whom Mike had been interested in for some time) asked him out on Twitter in response to his post that he had a gray hair. While Mike intitially swore she must be joking, she actually called the show on-air and confirmed she was indeed interested in going out with him on a date. Mike then politely took the conversation off-air, and has remained tight-lipped about it so far. The only clues he has leaked since then definitely admit that he is seeing someone in the context of a sexual relationship, but is not "official" with her yet, and so he remains very guarded about it. It is not known if this woman is in fact Diora or someone else he met locally. Running gags Mike has a few other bits he does on a semi-regular basis: * Talking about his traumatic experiences fighting in the Vietnam War (which occurred before he was born) * Various jokes about he and Drew being a homosexual couple. His intro for Drew at the beginning of each Loveline show is "My radio partner. My life partner. My tender love. Dr. Drew Pinsky." * Whenever the subject of strippers or strip clubs comes up in conversation, Anderson will sometimes play the refrain of Girls Girls Girls by Mötley Crüe. The sound of this song causes Mike to go into a manic "announcer persona" where he blunts out a rapid-fire stream of typical strip club fayre, usually with references to having a fanny-pack full of cocaine and being fat with greasy hair thrown in for good measure. It is sometimes implied this is involutary. * Showing guests various "shock photos" of disgusting human specimens such as Blue Waffle, Special Fried Rice, etc. This backfires if he shows them to a doctor, who all seem to remark "I've seen worse." * Talking unapologetically about how much he masturbates and what kind of material he uses. * Telling several stories from back when he was still using drugs. The most popular is the Paris story, where he woke up in the hallway of an unfamiliar hotel face down wearing only his boxers, which he'd crapped in at some point. Other Work Kevin & Bean Show Catherwood is also currently assistant producer for the Kevin and Bean morning show, and frequently stars in man-on-the-street segments as well as parodies of most commercial songs which generally involve crude themes. He also has done several segments educating listeners about exercise and nutrition. ''Dancing With The Stars'' A surprise came on February 28, 2011, when during a segment of The Bachelor, Dancing With The Stars announced its upcoming contestants, and Mike Catherwood was introduced to join the cast debuting on March 21, 2011. He was partnered with professional dancer Lacey Schwimmer. Catherwood admitted while he is an athlete, he had no dance experience and no “grace.” His Loveline cohost, Dr. Drew, was highly supportive of his competition, appearing each night in the audience with his wife and children, and making appeals for fans of the show to vote. At one point, Pinsky facetiously said he would run across the stage and forearm-tackle Len Goodman (in a manner similar to Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman) if he gave Catherwood a bad score. On March 29, 2011 he became the first contestant of the 12th season to be eliminated. References